The Seaside High School ROTC color guard at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. March. (Vern Fisher - Monterey Herald)

SEASIDE >> Children played tag in a parking lot in front of the Monterey County Social Services Offices on Monday as they waited to participate in Seaside’s 32nd annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day March. Some held signs in the shape of doves; others had ones reading “peace,” “love,” “unity” and “brotherhood.” The presence of many children and young adults reflected the theme of this year’s event: “What’s going to move us from here to there?”

Ben Bruce, the program director of the Community Partnership for Youth, marched with about 40 children clad in matching green T-shirts.

“The values that Dr. King stood for are still very relevant today,” said Bruce. “This event has been a tradition for Seaside, and the students are looking to carry on that tradition.”

Rev. Carson Huntley from Friendship Baptist Church was happy to see a large and diverse crowd at the event. Friendship Baptist always has a strong showing at the annual event, and Monday was no exception.

“It’s good to see people of all races and all creeds gathered together under one flag and one God,” Huntley said. “It’s important for us to come together to have our voices heard—to be respected.”

The march made its way from the County Offices to the Oldemeyer Center on Hilby Avenue. A waving audience sat along either side of the street, smiling broadly and cheering on the procession. Children from Monterey Bay Charter School skipped past waving flags, playing tambourines and singing “We’ll walk hand in hand.” Members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Monterey Peninsula followed with a chorus of “We Shall Overcome.”

Embedded in the festivities was a call for social justice and political action. The labor unions Unite Here and the Service Employees International Union called out support for immigrants and “dreamers.” Sustainable Seaside marched beneath the slogan “think green, be green” and a group of veterans under “Save Our VA.” The local LGBTQ+ community promoted Monterey Peninsula Pride 2018, to be celebrated June 17 of this year.

Whites for Racial Equity held an enormous banner reading “Stop racism.” A woman marching with the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom held out a sign reading “Make Racism Wrong Again.”

“It’s bilingual!” she called out, flipping it to show the other side was written in Spanish.

The political fervor remained palpable at the event following the parade at the Oldemeyer Center. It was infused with hope for the future—specifically the upcoming generation of social activists.

“We had 100 young people here packing lunches for the homeless this morning,” said Alice Jordan, a National Pan Hellenic Council Representative and the event’s coordinator. She expressed gratitude for all the local youth that contributed to the event, and who give back to their community on a regular basis.

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“They are ready to move forward and we need to be ready to move with them,” she said.

Sabria Henry-Hunter, a junior at Everett Alvarez High School, gave tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. and spoke on the great accomplishments of black women in America today.

“If Dr. King were alive today, he would advise young people to be resilient,” she said. “We must walk on in the days ahead with an audacious faith in the future.” Senior Omarr Wilson from Seaside High School followed her speech, paying respect to Dr. King’s accomplished wife, Corretta Scott King.

Many political figures also spoke at the proceedings. Seaside Mayor Ralph Rubio noted the event had never been as well attended, and chalked it up as a response to the nation’s political climate. State Senator Bill Monning, D-Carmel, and California Assemblyman Mark Stone, D-Scotts Valley, expressed similar dismay at what’s been happening in Washington. County Supervisor Jane Parker, Monterey Peninsula Unified School District Superintendent PK Diffenbaugh, League of United Latin-American Citizens president Fransico Lopez, and NAACP branch president Regina Mason also spoke. All expressed similar sentiments, calling for action and expressing hope for the future.

Dr. Gloria Ponce-Rodriguez served as the event’s keynote speaker. Having missed 43 days of high school caring for her younger siblings, Ponce-Rodriguez dropped out. She went on to earn her GED and attend Norfolk State University, a historically black college and university in Virginia. Today, as an administrator in the Office of College and Career Readiness at Fresno Unified School District, she helps underprivileged students find the funds to go to college.

“If one part of the community is not functioning, it’s like cancer to the body,” she said. She encouraged the audience to explore various scholarship programs, invest time and interest in their children’s educations and take steps to achieve their own academic goals. “We have to act now, because our students are drowning.”